ACCRA: Prince Charles acknowledged Britain’s role in the slave trade on Monday calling it an appalling atrocity that had “left an indelible stain on the history of our world”.

In a speech in Ghana, which served as a major hub where African slaves were held before being shipped away, most across the Atlantic, the heir-to-the-British throne said the “profound injustice” of the past could never be forgotten.

“At Osu castle on Saturday, it was especially important to me as indeed it was on my first visit there forty-one years ago that I should acknowledge the most painful chapter of Ghana’s relations with the nations of Europe, including the United Kingdom,” Charles said.

“The appalling atrocity of the slave trade, and the unimaginable suffering it caused, left an indelible stain on the history of our world.”

Britain abolished the trans-Atlantic slave trade in 1807 although the full abolition of slavery did not follow for another generation.

Two days ago the prince visited Christiansborg Castle in Osu which originally operated as a Danish slave trade fort.

The prince and his wife Camilla are on the second leg of a tour of three African nations.

Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2018